Saved By The Bell to pay tribute to Dustin Diamond

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: November 4 2021 | 15:36

Last updated: November 7 2021 | 12:26

Saved By The Bell to pay tribute to Dustin Diamond

The new season of the Saved By The Bell reboot will feature a tribute to the late Dustin Diamond, who died of cancer earlier this year.

The upcoming second season of the Saved By The Bell reboot will feature a tribute to the late Dustin Diamond, it has been revealed.

The comedian - Samuel 'Screech' Powers in the original series - died at the age of 44 in February, just weeks after learning that he had advanced lung cancer.

Screech did not appear in the first season of the reboot, although he was mentioned, and in a scene in season two, the five other original cast members will reunite in The Max to remember him.

Showrunner Tracey Wigfield told Variety: "At the beginning of this season, we already were coming into writing Season 2 [where] obviously Dustin was one thing, but we also were like in a pandemic and in general in the first episode, everyone was feeling the same sense of everyone understands how heavy this last year has been.

"It would have been wrong to not acknowledge that in a real way and to not have our OG characters mourning this character that we'll never get to see again.

"That, I wanted to put on the screen, but I just wanted to make sure we were being as sensitive as possible. There was a real guy who had people who loved him. You don't want to make any jokes or talk about it in any way that might hurt anyone's feelings."

The new season of Saved By The Bell premieres on Peacock in the US on November 24. A UK airdate has yet to be confirmed, although the show could feature on the streaming service when it launches in the UK later this month.